Subversive Children's Literature

Dick and Jane. Janet and John. Peter and Jane. These duos are famous for befriending millions of children in their quest to become literate. They’re also famous for being bland, didactic texts that fail to inspire children to question the world around them. Another side of children’s literature reveals a more subversive nature. Many beloved classics such as Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax connect with young readers on a much deeper level than their didactic counterparts. Author Alison Lurie describes books like these as “sacred texts of childhood, whose authors had not forgotten what it was like to be a child. To read them was to feel a shock of recognition, a rush of liberating energy.” She goes on to explain that energy comes from the books’ subversive natures as they “overturned adult pretensions and made fun of adult institutions” (Lurie). Such works are often termed “radical” because they advocate reform and “question the economic and social basis of our society” (Herbert Kohl as qtd. in “What’s Left?”). Jack Zipes further explains: “A radical literature, especially a radical children’s literature, wants to explore the essence of phenomena, experiences, actions, and social relations and seeks to enable young people to grasp the basic conditions in which they live” (vii). Children’s authors often use subtle political content, ambiguous messages, and/or radical perspectives in their works to subvert the status quo and encourage children to think for themselves.

Subtle Political Content

Distinguishing subversive children’s literature from conformist children’s literature requires an in-depth analysis of the book’s content. Subtle political content is a common element in radical kid’s books. In “What’s Left?,” Julia Mickenberg and Philip Nel explain “some books that seem to be apolitical or politically retrograde are in fact socially engaged and advocates for progressive social change.” Political content in a children’s book may seem inappropriate to some, but Mickenberg and Nel argue all literature is inherently political because they “embody an author’s political sensibility” (“What’s Left?”). Most radical children’s literature tends to be leftist politically, but the last decade has also seen a small surge of conservative radical children’s literature.

Ambiguous Messages

Many radical children’s stories also feature ambiguous messages. These authors refrain from sharing clearcut morals because they want to encourage children to think for themselves. For example, in Dr. Seuss’ Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, Gertrude McFuzz is a bird who gets greedy with her tail feathers, only to find that they inhibit her movements, so one tiny feather is really much better than miles of them. Although the story reads like a fable, Seuss doesn’t end it with a moral. He could tie this story to messages of self-image or consumerism at the end, but he refrains because he wants children to draw their own messages from the story. If he were to limit the story to one concrete moral, it would limit the scope of the work and present young readers with a ready-made prescription for behavior.

Radical Perspectives

Subversive children’s literature also feature radical, resistant perspectives. Alison Lurie explains: “They mock current assumptions and express the imaginative, unconventional, noncommercial view of the world in its simplest and purest form.” The works explore alternate views of human life besides the status quo with childlike simplicity. For example, Runaway Bunny appears to be a mild bedtime story about a beloved bunny, but a deeper look at the rabbit’s systematic rule-breaking reveals a narrative that encourages children to explore their world, even if it means going against adults’ rules. Similarly, The Little Engine that Could reads like a capitalist fairytale, but the Little Engine’s female gender subverts stereotypical gender roles, and the engine who comes to her aid illustrates the power of working together. These books challenge the status quo by presenting subversive perspectives.

Active Participants

It’s important for children to be exposed to radical children’s books because they encourage children to participate in their world. After all, “pushing children to blindly follow a particular doctrine—whatever that doctrine may be—is not liberating,” and it doesn’t teach children how to become productive members of a democratic society (“What’s Left?”). Children respond to radical children’s literature because it “respect[s] children for who they are and who they want to be” (“Subversive Children’s Literature”). As the future leaders of the world, children must prepare to think independently, and reading imaginatively subversive literature prepares them for this responsibility.